Smash
Strokes
Max Weidl Asked 12 years ago
How do I hit a backhand smash?
Jeff Plumb Answered 12 years ago
Hi Max,
We haven't filmed a video for this shot yet but there is a reason why we haven't. If the ball goes high enough for you to make a backhand smash, you really should skip around and play a forehand smash which is a much safer and more reliable shot.
If you really do need to play a backhand smash, you can think of it as an extension of the backhand counterhit. The difficulty is that if the ball gets up to high it's hard to control with the backhand.
Recommended Video
Crossover Footwork
When you need to reach that really wide ball the regular shuffle step just won't get you there in time so you need to use the crossover step. This is essentially a running action to get you to the ball as fast as possible.
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Max Weidl Posted 12 years ago
Mostly the ball doesn't get high enough so that I could skip around it, so I just try to do a backhand smash but it never works
OK. So if the ball is not high enough to move around and play a forehand, then start off by not trying to smash the ball too hard. Take a look at our lesson on the backhand counterhit and try to use that stroke. See if that works better for you.